Vegan / Vegetarian Discussion - All Things Veg*n Forum

Returning to this way of life

I have been eating meat for the last 10 roughly years after 10 years of veggie and a short time as a vegan.

I have the problem that no one in my family will understand or support. I want to keep cooking meat for my husband he will not change and at least i can spice without tasting these days and buy from the local "ethical" meat company for him. If it is just him eating it I think i can afford to source all his meat from there.

I know it's going to be gross but I really have no wish to convert anyone, my sister is an atkins advocate and my mum has followed that too but less strictly

It is a bit like being around complete fanatics.

I have to say - what the hell am i going to do when i start farting again.

I've sourced a vegetarian complete essential amino acids supplement and maybe could have waited around to get advice.

I want to be vegan but not a perfect vegan - so that's not vegan at all - right?

I want to chose the vegan option as many times at each point of eating and choosing food for myself as I can. but I really don't expect perfection from myself at least to start with while i am transitioning over.

at what point can I identify as vegan? not that i want to go around shouting it, i'd rather say strict vegetarian to people but internally i'd like to make that decision.

Thanks for reading. I'm so happy to find this place, it looks really helpful.

Responses (6)

If your neighbor beat his wife, would you not want to convert him to being a non-wife beater?

When one fully understands the horrendous suffering experienced by non-human animals at the hands of humans, it's difficult for many of us to just look the other way and not make an effort to educate others, and lessen that suffering.

I think it's great you want to follow a better less harmful way of life. Remain strong, remain smart. I hope you can find local people who are more supportive.

Of course it irritates them and that is OK. It is challenging their illusions. However, people who belittle you and call you names for what is your choice are controlling and I don't have much time for that kind of behaviour.

They will indeed most likely die hard. You don't have to convert them. It would be nice and encouraging is good but in the end it is their own decision, just as this is your own decision.

You will know when you are vegan. It's basically about not exploiting or harming animals.

It is difficult to decide not to exploit animals at all. For me, some home reared chickens at the camp site i stayed at, on a smallholding... I thought the eggs would be ok since there are only about 10 or so birds living as good a life as possible, not being eaten for food prematurely, not being over farmed. I made the exception... which is really the same as no change .... but i didn't eat the eggs from the supermarket that my husband ate.

That was a dilemma for me. I'm sure i will not want them soon enough, but at the minute the fresh cooking smells still smell edible

god , not that that makes it difficult, i just found that the last 3 days, i've had stuff because i planned to eat it before i made the decision, (birthday cake, marshmallows round a fire) and since then milk in tea - because there wasn't any of my milk at the laundry shed... pop corn with butter in the ingredients.

I have the commitment i just have to get used to reading all the labels again, which I used to find pretty difficult as there was no choice.... there are so many more choices now - I'll have to re learn how to shop.

Had my hands in a chicken earlier, pulling it to bits for my husband.
Don't know how likely I am to be able to do this permanently for him after all.

I encourage you but it is up to you how to transition it. As I was exploring the issue (or waking up if you like) I moved rapidly to partial vegetarianism consuming whatever meat products were left then full and then when I understood it about the animals I went vegan pretty much instantly and that worked for me because I didn't want to drag it on any further. The whole process took about a week.

It's not about judging you, it's about you doing what you can the best you can.

I used to pull apart chicken carcasses all the time much the same as you. I would not be eager to touch one now. Yes at the moment it's like food to you. That did not stop instantly for me. Smells have changed the quickest moving over some months to neutral to repulsive, especially the butcher and fish places. That's just nasty. The appearance I do still occasionally struggle with on very hidden non vegan items. The taste is not an issue. I don't taste it of course and vegan food is very yummy once you adapt. It's so much easier now too.

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